Park proposed for old armory site

The Armed Forces Reserve Center on 10th Avenue is seen on July 13, 2011.

Dusty Compton | Tuscaloosa News

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Published: Monday, December 10, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 9:26 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | A rejected plan to use a now-shuttered armory by the University of Alabama could lead to a new park and green space for West Tuscaloosa residents.

Last year, it was announced that the former Armed Forces Reserve Center on 10th Avenue was intended to be a facility to house UA's fleet of school-owned vehicles, garage services and its environmental health department.

But a requirement under the facility take-over plan with the U.S. Department of Defense required the university to use the existing buildings and did not allow for demolition.

At first, it appeared the damage to the building caused by the tornado of April 27, 2011 — the roof was damaged and windows blew out — did not cause enough structural damage to warrant significant renovations.

That, however, is no longer the case, and the Department of Defense is now in the process of clearing the necessary bureaucratic hurdles to have the site cleared.

Robin Edgeworth, director of the city's recovery operations, told the City Council's Public Projects Committee on Dec. 4 that UA has declined to proceed with its plans for the site, despite earning permission from the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to do so.

Now, city officials want to convert the space into a park.

The city's involvement in the future of the site began in 2006, when the Department of Defense decided to close the reserve center and open a new one in Tuscaloosa. This happened in July 2011, when a new $13 million reserve center opened on a 16-acre site off Alabama Highway 69 South.

But part of the military's decision to close the old facility included the federal government offering City Hall a role in determining how the remaining facility would be use.

The City Council signed off on UA's plans for the site, just as it did in April 2009, when the Tuscaloosa County Parking and Transit Authority and the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority announced plans to share the property. Had this plan been approved, the Housing Authority would have used the main building and connected parking for a social services center for homeless families, and the Transit Authority would use the depot and maintenance area for its bus maintenance facility.

But two months later, this proposal fell apart when the Housing Authority announced that it lacked the money to proceed with its plans.

Now, the City Council is expected to sign off on the park proposal recommended by Edgeworth and the Tuscaloosa Redevelopment Authority, which was formed in accordance with Department of Defense regulations to consider proposals for the center and make a recommendation.

The plan also must undergo federal scrutiny before the park can be developed.

Federal guidelines require that the property be conveyed for a use that will provide a public benefit.